Hints and tips for selling on E-Bay?
 

So I'm finally going through and weeding out the DVD's I just never watch anymore, and I thought I'd try E-Bay. I've never sold there before, so I'd thought I'd pick the brains of the experienced folks here.

My one big question - if I have a complete series (like say the Universal Monsters collection for example), is it better to break the discs up and sell them one by one. Or is it better to sell them all in one big lot?

What's a good starting bid? Should I go really low (and hopefully encourage lots and lots of impulse buying) or should I set it at a reasonable price closer to what I'd like to get for the discs?

Along those same lines - I was thinking of offering free shipping. Smart idea or am I likely to take a bath?

Should I go for a short auction or a longer one?

Any other thoughts you'd like to share?


***edit** although I'm a newbie seller, I've had the account for years and years and have bought lots of stuff - so positive feedback isnt a problem. (I'm at 30-ish positives with no negs)

most of these are really your own choice. To start search for what you want to sell. Check both live auctions and recently completed. This will give you an idea of what they are selling for.

Tips

* Start with lower price items and only a handful till you start collecting feedback.

* IMO start the price at what your bottom line willing to accept. (I always assume I will only get 1 bid).

* Shipping is always the catch. Two ways to go here. Charge what the competition is charging or research what the actual cost would be.

Hopefully that helps.

I think you'd probably get more money selling them seperately since a lot of items usually sells for cheaper.

Why not just sell them on Half.com instead of Ebay. As long as it's not something worth a lot of money it is easier than selling on Ebay. It doesn't cost anything to list and there are no time constraints to sell something.

Hmmm - I never considered Half. What sort of turn around time would I be looking at if I listed it on half? I dont need the money right away or anything, but I'd like to clear off some of my shelf space. So if discs linger for months at a time on Half, I think E-bay would be the way to go instead.

if your selling on ebay,sell the universal monsters seperately,I got 60 for my viewed twice creature from the black lagoon,have great communication,answer customers e-mails fast and ship as fast out as possible with delivery confirmation number,hope this helps.

I hear the best time to sell is Sunday evening.

Free shipping might not be such a good idea, just keep it cheap. Sellers usually over charge for a DVD, anywhere from $4 - $6 and dont even send priority, that turns people off. For one DVD $2.50 is good, covers your packing materials, shipping cost, and delivery confirmation. Always combine shipping, never expect someone wins 2 or more items, to pay the invidual shipping charge for each.

The longer the auction, the more views you get. If youre not in any kind of hurry, go for the 7 or 10 days for items you think might be worth something.

I like starting auctions at .01 for media, especially if it is something real popular. But if its an item youre unsure, youre better off setting a price. You final option, start at .01 with a reserve, and list the reserve price on the auction. The .01 price gets people clicking on your auctions and then they can decide if they are willing to pay the reserve, just dont give them the guessing game w/ it, thats why I say list the price in the auction.

Just a few random thoughts, some of which address info mentioned above:

I always set an opening bid for a price I'm willing to live with as a final bid. The only exceptions would be for OOP titles that you know will go up substantially from a low opening bid. Keep in mind that the listing fee increases if your opening price is over $9.99.

There is an extra listing fee if you list for 10 days - I always stay with the 7-day.

$2.50 is a good shipping/handling price. You don't really want to do a free shipping and add the $2.50 to your item price, because you pay a final-value fee based on the price, but no fee on the s/h.

A lot of people go with the "ending on Sunday eveing" theory - it might be best for non-unusual items, but a good item with fair prices will generally do well ANYTIME.

Half takes a 15% commision - a major ouch for me.

Free shipping is not a good idea. As has been mentioned, offer the lower cost Media rate with a option to select Priority. USE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION! It's free, too, on Priority if you use this page to print your mailing label : https://sss-web.usps.com/ds/jsps/index.jsp . Offer, but do not require, insurance. Ship promptly after receiving payment.

USPS Domestic Shipping Calculator: http://postcalc.usps.gov/

USPS International Shipping Calculator: http://ircalc.usps.gov/

Sign up for PAYPAL. Get a Premier account so that you can accept credit card payments. Accept money orders. I recommend that you don't accept personal/business checks; these are too much hassle.

Go for the 7 day auctions. I just hate 10 day auctions.

As far as starting price - this is a can of worms. I rather agree with marty888 that your starting price should be the minimum you will sell your item for. But there are many philosophies on this and I can't say one is overwhelmingly better than all others.

Use a reserve only on more valuable items. I'd rather that you not use a reserve at all, and I think that, in the long run, you will get more money without using reserves. I can't prove it though.

Decide if you're willing to ship internationally. It's not hard - you just have to fill out a customs form. Make them pay in USA funds. PAYPAL makes international payments simple.

Include a photo of the actual item! Ebay allows you to post one photo for free and more for a price. Plus, there are many hosting services, or you can host from your own site.

Describe your item accurately and honestly. There are a lot of bootlegs out there; people want to know that yours is legitimate.

Answer questions promptly! At least within 24 hours. I always try to make myself available at the end of an auction.

No matter what, always be polite and non-threatening in all correspondence and feedback (in case something goes awry - it happens). It's to your advantage if you're calm. I read feedback and, if someone has left you a negative, I consider your response to it as to whether you're a worthy seller or not.

Whether you should split something up or sell it intact is a judgement call. You'll have to do some research. This can take time, depending on what you're selling.

Make certain everything is spelled out in your auction. I want to know exactly what you're selling - if there are different versions, which one is yours? - what shipping is, how you want to be paid. Anything that a buyer might want to know. Don't force a potential buyer to e-mail a question!

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Okay I have an e-bay question for the wiser member of this forum. In the past I sold a few items when I graduated from college and offered priority shipping, with the shipping charge being the actual cost from USPS. No one seemed to have a problem with this, but two (2) of my bidders had a problem with me not accepting payments via paypal.

Now my question is, is paypal really a deal breaker? I have no negative/neutral responses in my feedback and answered any and all questions easily within 24 hours. I just did not trust my bank and paypal to have the best relationship, so I chose simply to accept payment through money order, cashier's check, or cash. The same two (2) people that had a problem with me not using paypal are the two (2) that sent personal checks, I accepted them, but waited until they cleared, or cashed them at their financial institution.

Im looking at selling another few items on e-bay and want to know if I should alter either my payment method or my shipping preference. I figure for the "cost" of priority the bidder will receive the knowledge that w/o question the item will arrive a lot sooner than through any other means. And while Im at the same bank, Im starting to wonder if paypal might make it easier on everybody. Thoughts on this are greatly accepted. Thanks in advance.

Paypal is just a great deal easier on the buyer because they don't have to either write a check or go get a money order, write your address on an envelope, stamp it, mail it, and wait for you to receive it. A few clicks and the work is done for them. I know personally I tend to skip past auctions that don't offer Paypal as a payment method unless it's some really unusual item for which that's the only option. Those two people who ended up sending personal checks wanted as few steps as possible involved in paying you; they probably weren't concerned with speedy delivery.

Offering Priority Mail may not be that much of a bonus for some people. For me, as long as I get something within two weeks or so, I don't give it much thought; I'd rather save a few bucks.

When I set up my Paypal account years ago, there was no requirement to give them any info about your bank. I still haven't given them any, though they like to ask me to "verify" my account by doing so just about every time I log in. I suspect you can still start an account without involvement with your bank account. I've never needed the funds accumulated through sales immediately, so I just leave them in there and use them for purchases as needed. If you need the cash, I don't know if they'll cut checks for you for your balance or if they require direct deposit.

It generally is for me as a buyer. It would take a lot for me to bother with an auction that didn't provide for payment via Paypal -- namely, a fairly unique item and a very low price. Not only is it a hassle to send a payment off, but as a buyer I feel better protected in case of a problem if I paid through Paypal with a credit card.

Not always, but most of the time it is. It depends on how bad I want what you're selling and how easily I can find another item like it. If it's really rare, I'll put up with the hassle and mail a money order. If not, then it's on to the next auction.

Trust me - in the long run, if you run enough auctions, you will make more money if you accept payment through PAYPAL even allowing for PAYPAL fees.

Thanks colleen, Yakuza Bengoshi, and BigT for the insight. Looks like Ill be signing up for Paypal shortly after some more reading on their site.

Whenever I am buying on ebay, I will always take the auctions which allow paypal. Unless the guy who takes paypal is either overcharging shipping or I find a better deal. Aside from that, paypal it is.

Don't forget to specify in your listing if the shipping cost is for Priority Mail, First Class or Media Mail. It is my absolute pet peeve as a buyer. Because I'm in Hawaii, I'm looking at a difference in delivery time from 4 days to 5 or 6 WEEKS depending on the method. It's a pain always having to e-mail the seller to ask.

How much does Pay-Pal ding you for service fees on each transaction?

*sigh* I'm really reluctant to go the pay-pal route. I've heard all kinds of horror stories from them - starting with www.paypalsucks.com, and going downhill from there. I're really prefer to go with cash/check/money order instead.

About 3% and .30 cents for credit card transactions (to the person having the $$$ sent to him).

If you accept Paypal, study their rules about Buyer Protection.

It's very possible to get burned as a seller.

I once had a buyer leave me positive feedback and email me when he received the item only to later file a claim against me with Paypal for not receiving the item.

Because I didn't use traceable shipping methods (USPS Delivery confirmation, UPS Tracking Number, etc.), Paypal sided with the buyer and refunded the money from my account to the buyer.

If it's a higher cost item, insist on shipping only to a "Confrimed Address". Put that in your auction desciption. This will also protect the seller from chargebacks.

I avoid paypal like the plague. Just request USPS money order or hold the check for 10 business day. I haven't gotten screwed yet from mo or checks. As for paypal, those fees (on top of ebay fees) sure add up especially on lots of small price item (e.g. items under $10.00).

I'd stay away from Paypal as well. Too many horror stories and a few bad experiences on my part have really turned me off to this service.

Although I may get flamed for this, just exactly how hard is it to mail a letter? In most cases, you put in a mailbox or in most cases you can leave it in your mailbox and you mailman will take it for you.

I have no problem listing as many forms of payment as possible. In my mind the idea is to make it as easy as possible for the buyer and that repeat business is usually generated by doing so. As such, I'll take any valid form of payment but I choose not to accept PayPal because of problems. If a buyer has a problem with that, they can always go somewhere else and pay more if they like.

As always, your mileage may vary as do our opinions regarding PayPal.

Well, I went and took the plunge today. I cant put a link to it here now, but after the auction closes, I'll post a link and get some feedback about the design of the ad. See what you guys think of the layout and see if you have any suggestions on headlines and whatnot.

Wish me luck. I got a ton of discs to unload if this works out. . . .

What's your seller id? (Don't think it breaks any forum rules to post that sort of info...)

(Mods please note - this is not a solictiation for others to bid. Just want to clarify that)

My ebay id is tony-case, should anyone be interested in looking over my ad and offering up suggestions.